Favour
by TheDarknessIsTheLight
Summary: "Annabeth. We kissed…does that not mean anything to you?" he said; the words cut him and me both.       At first I was silent, but then I said, "Of course it does. I miss you every day. And I need to see you," I noticed he was grinning now. "Be my date."
1. Wedding

Favour

A month had passed since the war had ended, and ultimately, since I had kissed him. Two weeks. _Two whole weeks._ I haven't seen him in two weeks. I haven't talked to him in two weeks. I haven't kissed him in two weeks. You know how hard that is, after having waited so long? He couldn't have just manned up and kissed me; I had to do that too. And he still hadn't taken me on a date. I told him I'd be staying in New York, to go to a boarding school. Of course he had thought it had something to do with him. Not that it didn't. But my dad was worried sick over this war, and wanted to have me home for a while. So I _voluntarily _stayed with him in San Francisco until school started. But he didn't mention _this_. I was prepared for anything that came with my step-mom. Just not this. A wedding; not just anyone's wedding, but my step sister Jenna's wedding and she wanted me to be a bridesmaid. This shocked me at first, but then again, we were never really on bad terms, she was super nice to me when I was little and wanted to play games. But her mother never let her.

_Man this computer is slow!_ I thought as the video chat screen loaded. I had sent Percy an e-mail yesterday to make sure he could talk to me. Finally it came up and I clicked connect. It took a minute but soon I could see Percy. He was sitting in front of the computer, facing the side. What I remember from his room was that he would have been looking out the window.

"Percy…" I said, quietly. He jumped slightly and his cheeks reddened. I wondered what he had been thinking about. I just hoped it had something to do with me.

"Hey Annabeth! I've missed you. It feels like…so what's up?" he said grinning. _He missed me? Then maybe he should have called…wait, I know it's probably been super busy for him._

"Yeah…I missed you too. Nothing's really…up…" I said awkwardly. I wished this was in person; I wanted to see him so badly, which is why I didn't just call him. This way I could at least see his face.

He laughed, "I just meant, why you wanted to talk. You said it was pretty important…" He was staring me down now, the best he could through a computer screen. It was almost as if he wanted me to say something. But with me, it usually had to be comfortable, or I wouldn't say anything at all. People knew better than to try to talk to me when I was mad.

"Yeah…It kind of is," I said. _Oh gods! Can't I start a sentence without 'Yeah…?'_

"Wait…what's wrong? Are you okay?" he asked, looking worried. _Why does he have to be so sweet?_

"No, no, nothing. I'm fine. I just…need a favour. But it's totally up to you!" I added quickly, so he wouldn't feel forced.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Well, see; my step-sister is getting married and she wants me to be a bridesmaid. I said yes…because well…it felt right. Anyways, I definitely won't know anyone there besides my step-mom's family and my dad. And…my invitation said 'and guest…'" I said slowly.

"You want me to go with you to your sister's wedding?" he asked. I nodded, getting ready to be shut down. He continued, "Like…a date?"

"No…not if you don't want to. I just need someone I know there." My face was burning. But his wasn't; he was smiling, like he was enjoying watching me squirm.

"Annabeth. We kissed…does that not mean anything to you?" He said it lightly, but the words cut him and me both.

At first I was silent, but then I said, "Of course it does. I miss you every day. And I need to see you," I noticed he was grinning now, kind of cocky, "So yes, if that's what it takes. Be my date." His bright, green eyes were locked to mine now. They always made me self-conscious, but I refused to look away right now. He seemed speechless; he just nodded.

I smiled, "Great! Well, the wedding is in New York because the groom's parents live there or something. But anyways, it's next week, August 31st. I'll see you at 4. You're still at the same place, right?" I realized I was talking too fast, because he had started laughing. I hoped I didn't come off too eager, though.

"Wait! Slow down… 4 o'clock? When is the ceremony?" he asked. I told him it was at 6, but that the wedding party had to show up a bit earlier to make sure everything was ready.

"Two hours early?" he groaned, "Do I have to rent a tux too?" I laughed.

"Yes. You're lucky; I'm stuck with whatever bridesmaid gown Jenna chooses."

Percy looked down for a second, but then looked back at me; he seemed to gain confidence, "You look great in everything."

My cheeks were burning again, but I said, "Thanks, Percy…I'll see you next week. Bye…" He said bye and disconnected. _Wow…_

_Ugghhhhhhhh!_ My dress was deep purple. I didn't mind the colour, but I minded the style. It was disgusting: too girly, and too lacey. If it had been a little longer it would have been a mermaid dress; it sat just above my knees. It fit snugly at my waist and _everywhere_ else. Apparently, Jenna's maid of honour had chosen it. I should have known; she always dressed like that: showing too much. Jenna was girly, but not into the too much skin thing. I hated anything lacey though, no matter what. This is the stuff I thought about as I walked into Percy's building. I was _trying_ to keep my mind off of him. Off of what he'd think when he saw me, what he would say, what he would look like, his hair, his eyes, everything about him. I loved it all…too much for my own good. I got into the elevator. _This is weird…isn't the boy usually supposed to pick the girl up? Then again, what's so usual about us? Just your average daughter of Athena and son of Poseidon couple._ I got to his door, took a deep breath (cliché, I know) and knocked on the door. I heard footsteps and Sally Jackson opened the door. I smiled.

"Hi Ms. Jackson," I said as she leaned in to hug me. She looked so happy lately. _Maybe a certain fiancé was contributing to that._

"Percy is just in his room; I don't think he's changing or anything, though. Just go on in," she said smiling at me. I walked over to his doorway, debating whether or not to wait in the sitting room or knock. I noticed Paul sitting in the couch: sitting was no longer an option. Too awkward. I said hi and then knocked on Percy's door. He answered. Man, I had a hard time not staring. He looked really, _really_ good. And he was giving the once over. I saw from his expression he liked what he saw. He grinned.

"You look great. So girly…for once," he said. I frowned, wondering if that was a good thing. He said, "No, I mean, it's good. You look beautiful." I didn't know what to say to that so I just hugged him. I put my arms around his neck, his hand were around my waist. I tried to say, "You look great too," but it sounded kind of muffled, because I was leaning on his shoulder. He laughed and said, "Thanks, Annabeth." We pulled apart.

"Are you ready?" I asked. He nodded. We left after saying bye to his mom and Paul.

"How did you get here?" he asked.

"Here…as in New York or your apartment?" I asked, as we walked out of his building.

"Apartment…I guess."

"The best man drove… He's a little mean... Just warning you…" I said. He raised his eyebrows as we stepped into the car.

"Was he mean to you?" Percy asked, looking a little mad. I shook my head, even though he was, I knew full well that I could take care of myself. And I told him that.

"I know I know…" he said holding his hands up, in surrender. I didn't want to fight either, but sometimes I can't control what comes out of my mouth. I could see the best man, whatever his name was, give us both a look in the mirror.

"What?" I snapped at him. Percy looked kind of worried, which was so cute because his eyebrows were all scrunched up, until he realized I wasn't talking to him.

"No, nothing, nothing… It's just…you two should have taken longer… you know, it's not like we're holding up a ceremony or anything…nooooo," he said very sarcastically. I glared at him.

Percy said, "We're not…doesn't the ceremony start at 6? It's only four…"

"Who the hell are you?" he snapped.

"Yeah, nice come back. Would you relax? People will think you're the one getting married," I said.

He rolled his eyes and said, "Whatever." The hall was only 20 minutes away, but it seemed like much longer since no one talked. Percy looked really nervous. He was fidgeting with everything; his tie, his seatbelt, his hair, _my_ seatbelt and pretty much everything else. This would be normal, with the ADHD, but it was worse now. I took his hand in mine and that seemed to relax him a bit.

For two whole hours, we were both stuck listening to whatever the stupid wedding planner and maid of honour had to say. Mainly it was to move stuff to one place and then to move it back. After a while the people who were supposed to have set up the wedding showed up and they got yelled at, instead of us. Percy and I snuck off and hid in one of the upstairs rooms. The servers were walking in and out of the room, but I don't think they minded. It was kind of awkward…at least I felt a little uncomfortable. He was smiling though, looking out the window, to a little artificial Koi pond. It wasn't that the silence was uncomfortable or anything, it was just that I had so much to talk about; so much to say to him, but this wasn't exactly the best time. I actually liked the silence sometimes; it showed that we were close because we didn't feel the need to fill up every minute with unnecessary chatter. I saw him glance at me out of the corner of my eye. I turned and raised my eyebrows.

He smiled, "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Percy." He put his arm around me. _Interesting…usually he would have lost courage._ I smiled to myself and rested my head on his shoulder. It felt nice; _he_ felt nice. Warm and strong.

"There you are, Annabeth! You know how long we've been looking for you two. The guests are starting to arrive, you need to be with the rest of the bridal party," the wedding planner said.

"Sure…" I mumbled, not wanting to leave Percy. I got up and she dragged me to a room in the back, right where we would have to enter.

"I'll see you after," Percy had said, quietly. I sat down next to my dad, who would be walking Jenna down the aisle. The bride seemed to be getting cold feet, but judging by the huge crowd around her, I wasn't needed. Then I heard her yell. 

"NO! Would all of you just be quiet?" Jenna exclaimed. (Her maid of honour mimicked saying, "Yeah, shut up all of you!") Most of them looked shocked. I rolled my eyes. Jenna walked over to me and sat down, "Am I making a mistake, Annabeth?"

I looked at her and everyone who was staring. I took both of her hands, which were _freezing_ (so much for cold feet), and said, "Do you love him?" She nodded. "Does he love you?" She nodded again. "Then what are you worried about?" She was silent for a while but then she smiled and hugged me. "Thanks…" she whispered.

Then it was time. The ceremony started and I walked out with one of the groomsmen. He was a lot better than the best man, but he was sweating. A lot. It was kind of disgusting. _Funny how the groom's party are more nervous than the groom._ I looked to my left and saw Percy; he was smiling at me. I got to the front and eventually so did the maid of honour. Everyone rose when the bride came in, and honestly she looked beautiful. More importantly, she looked happy. The groom couldn't stop smiling. While most people's eyes were on the bride, I glanced at Percy and saw his were still on me. I could feel my cheeks burning; feeling self-conscious. But he was smiling.

It took awhile, but eventually pictures were done, people were settling down, all the tables were set up and Percy and I were seated. The bride and groom had their first dance which was so cute. The maid of honour came up to me and said, very rudely, "You better dance; otherwise you're going to ruin this wedding." I rolled my eyes as she walked away.

"Melodramatic much?" Percy said. I raised my eyebrows.

"Big word Percy!" I said laughing.

"Shut up Annabeth! Come on…" he said pulling me to the dance floor. The dance was sweet, even though a lot of people were watching. His hands we around my waist; my arms were around his neck. We danced for a long time, just swaying to the music. Pretty soon we were in a crowd of people and no one could really see us. This is when the best part of the whole night happened. He leaned in and kissed me. A real kiss…right there in the middle of the crowd. Which is how I knew he loved me…well, maybe not love…yet.


	2. A Different Kind of Monster

A Different Kind of Monster - Favour Chapter Two

_That was too perfect…_ I thought as Percy held my hand and walked us off the dance floor. We sat around for a while, but figured that we would have to wait a long time before the food was served. I looked around. The hall honestly looked beautiful; something I had completely missed before when we were setting up. I guess the lights made it sparkle. And so did the absence of a certain maid of honour. I couldn't see her anywhere. That's when I realized I hadn't even noticed her on the dance floor. She had been with the sweaty groom's man and I hadn't seen her since.

"You want to leave? I'm starving…" Percy said looking at me, groaning. I nodded.

"Why don't they just serve the food? But, we can't just leave…shouldn't I tell Jenna or my dad or something?" I asked him. He just shrugged, looking around for Jenna. Perfect timing, because right then she came up to us.

"Annabeth, have you seen Leila? Oh…is _this_ Percy? Hey," she said. Percy had raised his eyebrows when she said 'this.' Something about her tone was thick with implications. I hadn't told her anything but good things about him, though. Well, except for how he was so clueless.

"Who?" I asked. Jenna gave me a look.

"My maid of honour…remember?" she said like I was losing it.

"Oh…um…no, I haven't seen her since people started dancing," I replied.

"I have. She took one of groom's men and disappeared to the back…" Percy said, trying not to laugh. Jenna's eyes widened and she also went to the back. I wondered if they were still there or if they had decided to leave too.

"Let's go," I said to Percy. We got up and disappeared into the crowd, trying to get out unnoticed.

Once we were out, Percy said to me, "What did Jenna mean by _'this_ is Percy?'" He tried to imitate her voice which made me burst out laughing.

"What? What? You told her something about me didn't you?" he demanded. I couldn't help myself; he looked so indignant, it made me laugh even harder.

"Shouldn't I?" I asked tauntingly.

"No…I mean yes…wait, what? Did you or not?"

"Of course I did, Seaweed Brain." I started walking faster to reach the intersection before the hand started flashing.

"Well," he said, running after me, "What did you say?" Now I was the one trying to keep up with him; his legs were a lot longer than mine. _I remember when I was taller than him…_

"Good stuff, don't worry. Where are we going anyways?" I said after we had crossed the street.

"Hmmm…I got an idea. Where are you staying tonight?" he asked me.

I could feel my face burning, hoping he wasn't thinking what I thought he was thinking, "At a hotel…why?"

"Would your dad mind if you stayed somewhere else?"

"That depends, where were you thinking?" I asked.

"One of my favourite places, in the world. You know, besides Camp Half-Blood."

"It's a beach isn't it?" I asked, knowing him all too well. He grinned and nodded. I agreed, so he told me to go to the hotel and get the stuff I'd need for one night. I looked around for the street name and realized we were way uptown, nowhere close to the hotel or Percy's apartment. He was on the phone with his mom, but he took my hand and pulled me to a staircase, that lead to the underground subway. It was weird in the underground; it reminded me of what Grover had said about the underground always smelling like monsters. And about how Hades was darkness. But if I was going to go to school here, I'd have to get used to it.

He was talking to his mom about going to the beach. Apparently, it was right by their cottage. She had agreed but said, "Use _both_ beds, Percy." His face was just as red as mine now. But he had said, "Yes, mom," like he was used to this. "I'm serious Percy." He said bye and glanced at me before looking at a map of the subway.

"Here, we have to go through there," he said pointing to the map and then to more stairs. It took about 20 minutes of the subway and walking, but soon we were in front of the hotel. Percy's apartment was just the next block over, but he told me to wait in the lobby for him. My pride was taking over again, but I managed to keep my mouth shut. I knew he meant well. And I realized I wasn't carrying my bronze knife, so it wasn't such a bad idea.

When I changed out of the hideous dress, I put on some jeans and put the knife back into my pocket. I put some stuff into a bag and got a piece of paper and a pen. Writing in English wasn't the easiest thing in the world for me, but I did my best. I wrote a note for my dad that said I would be staying with Percy and that if he wanted to reach me he could call Percy's number, since I had forgotten to charge my phone before we came here and now it was dead. I realized he probably wouldn't have the number though, so I wrote that down too just in case. After that I headed down to the lobby. _I've fought in a war of the gods. I've defeated monsters. I've held the freaking world on my shoulders. I think I can walk down the street._ I left the hotel and started walking down the block. It was pretty late now. New York City is never quiet, but that only meant cars and subways and buses. No one mentioned that there wouldn't be _people_ walking down the street at this time. _What is the time anyways?_ I looked at my watch; it was almost 12.

I looked around; I passed a bar, so I kept my head down and walked very fast. _Ohhh…Percy was right…stupid hubris…_ People were stumbling out, wasted, falling on the ground and clinging to things. A drunk man stopped me, leaning on my shoulder and almost bringing me down in the process, "Hey, where you going honey? Don't you want a drink?" I shook my head and walked even faster. My mouth would probably just get me in more trouble, so I kept quiet. I was almost running now and I had seriously misjudged the length of this block.

I was passing a dark alley way now, and I heard screaming inside. I pushed my back to the wall and glanced inside. A guy was beating up some girl. _How dare he even touch her? Sexist little pig…_ The girl was on the ground now, I couldn't see blood, but it was too dark to see anything. But I did see something. I saw the guy look up, see me, pull out a knife and start walking towards me. I reached for my knife. _Oh great…_


	3. Celestial Bronze

**A/N:**** Sorry, but it's kind of short. Hope you like it though!**

Celestial Bronze

_Oh great! This is so not good…Percy…where are you…I need you…_ My knife was celestial bronze. That meant two things. It wouldn't harm mortals and I was in serious trouble. _Maybe the knife will scare him off…yeah right, he just beat up someone, and he's definitely mad. _He was getting closer now; I could make out some of his facial features. He looked very, very angry. His brow was furrowed. It made him look kind of scary though, not cute like when Percy does it.

"What did you see?" he growled at me, "Huh?" I kept quiet at first, but then he stepped closer and said, "I said, what did you see!" He was almost in my face now. Knowing me, I couldn't hold back my temper.

I snapped back at him, "What do you think I saw? You beat up an innocent girl!" He looked madder than ever now. He took another step closer. There was less than a foot between us now.

"No, NO…I'll tell you what you saw," he started, but I cut him off.

"I know what I saw, you idiot!"

"You saw nothing! Got that! Nothing!" he yelled. I knew he was going to step closer so I pulled my knife out. It glinted in the street light. His eyes followed my hand, which was shaking with anger now. He snorted and held his knife up to my face. It was much longer than mine, and would actually hurt… _Percy…where are you…my fist versus his knife…that's great, just great…_ I debated whether or not to just run into the middle of the street. _Yeah and get run over by some taxi…_

"Did you hear me? You saw nothing!" he snapped. I glared and him and lifted my knife closer to him. He didn't seem scared at all. He said, "I'm not scared of that, it won't even hurt me." _Wait…what? _"But this will hurt you, unless you keep your mouth shut." He stepped closer and he was right in my face now; his knife was touching my cheek. It was very cold… _Whoosh!_

I had been pushed back a step and someone was between me and the guy. _Percy!_ He had pulled out Riptide. Hopefully that had scared the guy a little. But of course he just laughed again, which made me really mad. I just lost it and punched him. He staggered back a few steps and lunged at me with the knife. It made contact with my shoulder and my skin broke. I looked at it, blood wasn't gushing but it was bleeding pretty badly. I looked back at the guy and tried to stab him with my knife but he dodged. I glanced at Percy; he looked so mad right then. He ran. And he stabbed the guy with Riptide. I got ready to run, when he realized it just went through him like air, but I didn't have to. He screamed. I saw blood coming out of his arm. Percy stepped back.

"You lied! You said it wouldn't hurt you" I snapped at him. I was ignoring the fact that there would have been no way for him to know that unless he was a demi-god. Then in that case, it obviously would have hurt him. I just said, "He's not mortal?" Percy looked shocked.

"Shit…"


	4. I Told You So

I Told You So

"Shit shit shit shit!" Percy was starting to swear continuously now.

"Percy! Stop!" I said, trying to think.

"Why? I just killed some random guy! Shit shit shit shit!" I looked down at the guy. He looked like he was in a lot of pain, but he was clearly not dead. He kept shooting me looks, as if I was the one who had stabbed him.

"Wait…Two things. I'm not dead. And second, Percy? As in Percy Jackson, the guy who won the war?" he said, his eyes widening. Percy nodded.

"You're a demigod aren't you?" I asked. When he nodded, I realized that we could help him without going to a hospital, and ran back into the street. The guy laughed.

"And she runs…"

"Where are you going?" Percy yelled after me. I told him I'd be back and to stay with the guy. Then I stopped.

"Percy! Check on the girl too!" I yelled, and then continued running. I saw his puzzled expression, but still continued. _He'll figure it out._ I ran past the bar again; the man who had almost pulled me down was still there, but this time he looked scared of me. I couldn't blame him. My shoulder was bleeding, my clothes were dirty and I was holding a knife. It probably looked like I'd just killed someone and was running away. I quickly got to the hotel and ran into the lobby. The doorman stopped me.

"Are you alright, Miss?" he asked looking kind of shocked.

"Huh? Yeah, yes, I'm fine." I said, as I waited by the elevator.

"Are you sure…I could get you some band-aids or something…" he said, but the elevator door was already closing. _What good would band-aids do anyways?_ I looked at my shoulder; it hurt really badly. Even though the blood wasn't gushing, it was big; too big for band-aids alone. I got to my room and saw my dad.

"Annabeth! Where have you been?" he asked as I ran around grabbing: a bag of ambrosia, a bottle of nectar and bandages. I stuffed it all into my bag.

"Dad, I left you a note, I got to go."

"Wait! At least tell me what happened to your shoulder! Annabeth!" he called. I held up the bandages, but I still ran to the elevator. It took me about five minutes of running (and wincing) after that but I got back to the alley. Percy was talking to the girl now; it seemed like she was trying to remember what had happened. I went up to the guy and handed him some ambrosia. He took it, but didn't seem too happy about getting my help. I handed Percy the rest of the ambrosia and the nectar. 

"Here, I'll take her to the hospital. Are you coming?" I asked.

"Should I just leave him here?" Percy asked. I knew whatever I said; he wouldn't leave someone injured like that. _He's way too nice for his own good._ I shook my head. We both glanced at him. He was glaring at the girl.

"We could take him to the hospital," Percy said. The guy snorted.

"Yeah, what do you think they'll say if me and Blondie show up with knife wounds?" he said sarcastically. I glared at him.

"She has a name!" the girl snapped, probably because she had blonde hair too.

"Oh yeah? How would you know!" he retorted. I rolled my eyes. He got up and said, "I'll be fine, I don't need your help." He walked off clutching his arm.

"I'll get a cab…" Percy said. I helped the girl up and walked her to the street. Pulling her up made my shoulder hurt really badly, and now she was leaning on me. I could feel my face getting hot; it was getting hard to breathe. I was about to fall, and bring down the girl with me; thankfully though, Percy caught us. He put the girl in the cab and helped me in. "Downtown hospital." He handed me some of the ambrosia. I glanced at the girl.

I whispered to him, "Is she a demigod?" He shook his head, "I asked the guy."

We got to the hospital eventually and got into the emergency room. I had to get stitches, but they said I could leave. They wanted to keep the girl there overnight because there were signs of head trauma and a concussion. They got her name from her driver's license and got a hold of her family, so Percy and I walked out.

"So much for the beach," Percy said.

"We can still go. Can't we?" I asked.

"Sure. But we need a car. Let's go back to my mom's place," he said. _I wonder why he isn't saying anything about the fact that I didn't listen to him…_ We walked to his mom's and took the car from the parking lot, careful to not wake her when we took the keys. _Still nothing._ We got into the car, and since I was the one with the license I drove. Percy just told me where to turn. It was quarter to 2 when we got there. I just wanted to sleep, but Percy had other plans. He threw our stuff into the cottage, grabbed a blanket and took my hand. We lay down by the water; his feet were in shallow waves.

"I thought you can't sleep if your feet are wet," I said. _What?_

He laughed, thinking I was kidding and said, "I guess it doesn't count if you're son of Poseidon." I looked at him, still waiting for him to mention it.

"Aren't you going to say it?" I said.

His cheeks were turning red, (_What does he think I meant?_), "Say what?"

"Say that you were right and that I should have stayed in the hotel and waited for you. But instead I had to go out by myself…blah blah…" I said. He looked kind of confused.

"Well…what do you want me to say, because that's a lot to remember?"

"I told you so."

"Okay…I told you so."


	5. I Heard Him Say

I Heard Him Say…

**A/N: This is the last chapter. Mainly because I'm running dry on ideas. But thank you so much for all the nice reviews; they really made my day.**

I had fallen asleep soon after, but in the middle of the night, I felt Percy sit up. I opened my eyes; at first I couldn't make out what was happening because it was so bright. Finally my eyes adjusted and I saw none other than Poseidon! Percy was talking to him. I decided that maybe it wasn't a good idea to listen so I tried to drown it out. It didn't work. But all I heard was –

"Annabeth? Are you awake?" Percy asked, interrupting my thoughts. Poseidon was gone now. I sat up and looked around. _I guess it isn't the middle of the night_. The sun was already in the sky. I grabbed Percy's arm and looked at his watch. It was 10 o'clock.

"I am now; how long have you been awake?" I asked.

"About 20 minutes." I waited for him to say what he was doing, but he didn't. I got up and walked towards the cottage, to brush my teeth and shower. Percy stayed where he was, though. He looked weirdly agitated. _I wonder what Poseidon said to him…_ Half an hour later and I went back to the beach, where Percy was.

"I'm hungry," he said. I smiled.

"What else is new? Hey, that reminds me: do I owe you, you know, for coming to the wedding with me?" I asked.

"You saved my life. I think we're even."

"Oh so, I just save your life and all you have to do is get a tux and wear it for a few hours," I said sarcastically. He laughed.

"So we're not even, but I don't want you to owe me for getting to spend time with you." I smiled. He leaned in and kissed me. It was really sweet.

"Wow…" he said. My cheeks turned red, but I laughed.

"What?" I demanded.

"You're good at that. It's so not fair."

"Better than Rachel?" I asked. He raised his eyebrows.

"Why? Are you jealous?" he asked, smirking.

"Please. I could care less."

"Uh huh," he said, not believing me for a minute.

"Well?" I asked.

"Well, what?"

"Am I a better kisser than Rachel?" I asked.

"I thought you didn't care?" he said. I leaned in and kissed him; when I pulled away he said, "Yes," looking dazed. I laughed.

"That's not fair." I laughed even harder. "Did you happen to see my dad this morning?" he asked. I nodded. "Oh." I looked at him; he looked disappointed, almost sad.

"I didn't hear anything," I said, even though I heard him say –

"Seriously?" he said, interrupting my thoughts again. I nodded. "Good." I frowned. _Why doesn't he want to tell me?_

"No, not like that. I didn't mean it like that…" he started. I raised my eyebrows, waiting. I guess my expression gave me away though. "You did hear, didn't you?" I bit my lip, trying to hold back a smile.

"Maybe…and I feel the same."

I heard him say, "I love you."


End file.
